Mariel E. Smith’s primary practice is comprised of education and employment law. Mariel regularly represents school districts in employment matters, drafting Board policies, handling due process hearings, and handling Title IX claims. She has years of experience in defending companies in lawsuits and pre-litigation investigations involving agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the United States International Trade Commission.
Her litigation experience in employment and labor law include defending employers in wage and hour, discrimination, and harassment claims. She also has experience in representing clients in mediation. She has assisted clients in workplace internal investigations as well as those involving employees charged with white collar federal crimes. She also has experience assisting private companies undergoing workforce reductions.
Mariel originally joined the Columbus office of HBS in 2011 after she worked for several years as a Superior Court Judicial law clerk and subsequently as an Assistant District Attorney, all for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. During her first few years at HBS, Mariel also served as the Associate Magistrate Judge for Muscogee County and occasionally filled in on the bench for Municipal Court, presiding over civil lawsuits, criminal first appearance hearings, truancy hearings, and warrant applications.
Mariel left HBS in 2017 to work as General Counsel for a global manufacturing company and returned in 2019. During her time as General Counsel, Mariel managed complex litigation, including lawsuits involving products liability matters, patent infringement, and trade secret theft and also maintained the company’s trademark and patent inventory. She gained a significant amount of experience in negotiating, revising, and managing agreements including those with two of the largest multinational retail corporations.
She has also successfully negotiated international agreements as related to operations and procurement in the manufacturing industry. Mariel has unique expertise in consumer and commercial law, particularly as related to ecommerce, business compliance with consumer privacy laws, consumer products packaging/labeling, and international trade. She is also a member of the Diversity Committee at HBS.
Experience
Arbitration & Mediation
Mariel is trained civil mediation and is a registered mediator in Georgia. Her practice has included experience in a significant amount of mediation settings as an advocate, which prepared her to serve as a mediator. Through those experiences, she is able to offer alternatives to litigation in an environment which facilitates effective compromise and decision making empowerment for the parties.
Education
In the context of education law, Mariel regularly researches various issues for school board members and administrators. She recognizes the importance of ensuring that board policies are up-to-date with the constantly changing state and federal education laws. In that regard, Mariel has drafted and revised many board policies related to governance, students, fiscal management, and personnel.
Additionally, Mariel provides representation to school districts and employees in defending and investigating lawsuits involving sexual harassment, discrimination, special education, and even motor vehicle collision occurring within the scope of a district employee’s job duties.
Labor & Employment
Mariel has had the opportunity to defend public and private sector employers and Department of Labor hearings, write opinion letters regarding suspension and termination procedures, and offer guidance in connection with responding to lawsuits involving current and former employees. Clients frequently benefit from Mariel’s familiarity with employment law, particularly in the context of litigation.
Recognition
•Top Lawyers , Labor & Employment Law, GaBiz Magazine, 2026
•Legal Elite, Labor & Unemployment; Georgia Trend Magazine; 2024
•Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Education Law, Best Lawyers, 2021-2024
•AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, High Ethical Standing; Martindale-Hubbell
•On The Rise, Daily Report’s Georgia Legal Awards, 2020
•Top 40 Under 40, National Black Lawyers, 2015-2017
•Top 100, National Black Lawyers
Presentations
•Getting Bias out of Our Systems
From Day One Forum, February 2020
•Social Media and other Hot Topics in Law
Presented to Arch Insurance Claims Professionals, October 2019
•Social Media in Claims and Litigation
RIMs, Great Plains Chapter, Omaha Nebraska; November 2019
•Americans with Disabilities Act in the Workplace
Employer-client presentation, 2019
•Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace
Employer-client presentation, 2018-2019
•How to Cover your Ass-ets
Creative South, Trademark and Copyright Law Presentation, 2017
•Is Your Employee Handbook Up to Date?: Essential Components and Sample Policies for Today’s Workplace; and Wage and Benefits Issues
National Business Institute, 2017
Publications
•An intern program can pay dividends - if done correctly
HR Dive; May 9, 2023
•Eleventh Circuit Holds Websites Are Not Places of Public Accommodation and Rejects the Nexus Standard
HBS Employment Updates Blog, April 2021
•US Supreme Court Holds That Title VII Protects Homosexual And Transgender Employees
HBS Employment Updates Blog, June 2020
•What Should Employers Do When Employees Refuse To Return To Work For Fear Of COVID-19?
HBS Employment Updates Blog, May 2020
•Enactment Of The CROWN Act Warrants Review Of Employer Policies Governing Grooming And Appearance Standards
HBS Employment Updates Blog, January 2020
•Department of Labor Issues New Overtime Rules
HBS Employment Updates Blog, September 2019
•Recent Case Decision: Defining Workers Compensation Medical Benefits
HBS Worker’s Compensation blog, June 2017
•Some Good Deeds Do Go Unpunished: AED and Emergency Medical Response
DRI, 2013
•Placing Commercial and Economic Loss Problem in the Construction Industry Context
The John Marshall Law Review, 2007
In the Press
27 HBS Partners Recognized as 2026 Top Lawyers by GaBiz Magazine
January 29, 2026
Hall Booth Smith is pleased to announce that 27 of the firm’s partners have been recognized as 2026 “Top Lawyers” by GaBiz Magazine in its Winter issue.
